Substitutes for Humulin U and L
The long-lasting Humulin U and Humulin L and their Novo Nordisk equivalents are all disappearing this year, and some feline (and perhaps canine) caregivers are desperately looking for substitutes. In cats The most often recommended substitutes on the Feline Diabetes Message Board are PZI, Levemir, and Lantus. All three have typical duration in a cat between 10 and 20 hours (each cat varies). Please click on their names for lots of details on usage, action, and where and how to get them. Note: The other insulins mentioned below for dogs are not as long-lasting in cats. * Beef PZI is the most like feline insulin, but can usually be obtained only through a vet, and typically has the shortest duration of the three. See PZI Case studies. **Beef/Pork PZIVet is also recommended and has similar properties. See PZI Vet case studies. * Lantus (aka glargine) is tested on felines and gave good results in a few well-known studies, but is expensive since many caretakers report that either the Lantus stops working before the vial is used up or there are "floaties" in the Lantus and the remaining insulin must be discarded. Also, some caretakers, and this Novo Nordisk study(full presentation here), have reported that Lantus gives inconsistent results day-to-day. See Lantus case studies. * Levemir (aka detemir) is very new and has been used in only a few cases but is showing remarkable results in those few cases, even in cats that were hard to regulate on PZI and Lantus. See Levemir case studies. In dogs While Humulin L/Monotard, were used quite a bit in treating canine diabetes, Humulin U/Ultratard were very rarely successful--they tend to be unreliable in dogs. Former canine users of either one are advised to try: * Caninsulin also known as Vetsulin is advertised to give a good 14-24 hour duration in dogs, with a gentle curve similar to the Humulin L curve. ** The differences between Humulin L/Monotard and Caninsulin/Vetsulin are in species and strength. Humulin L was a U100 r-DNA/GE/GM insulin; Caninsulin, or Vetsulin in the US, is a U40 porcine insulin. Both are Zinc-suspended and belong to the Lente insulin family. * Humulin N may be a good substitute for Humulin L or U in dogs, where 12 hour duration is obtained and is good enough. ** Humulin L/Monotard and Humulin N are both U100 strength insulins of r-DNA/GE/GM species. They differ in their suspension. Humulin L was Zinc suspended, from the Lente type family, while Humulin N/NPH insulins are isophane suspended. See also Substitutes for Iletin II NPH. External Links * A Guide To Switching Canine Diabetics From r-DNA/GE/GM Lente and NPH Insulins to Vetsulin Note: since the only difference between Caninsulin and Vetsulin is the brand name it is sold under, this guide would also apply as an assist for those outside of the US. * Gateway page for Caninsulin/Vetsulin to US, UK, French, Italian and German Websites It should be noted that Caninsulin is considered an approved treatment for feline diabetes in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and other countries. While it is available in Canada as Caninsulin, and in the US as Vetsulin, the insulin has received approval in both countries for dogs currently. Use of it for treating cats would be considered legal Off label usage. Category:TipsCategory:Insulins